Crusaders Of Konoha
by RedRevolver007
Summary: The Akatsuki are on the move. The streets of Konoha will never be safe again. There is only one hope left: A trio of angsty teenagers running around in bad costumes! Join Naruto "The Fox", Sasuke "The Avenger" and Sakura "The Blossom" as they attempt to balance the troubles of high school with the struggles of fighting a drug lord! Rated M for Language, Violence and Suggestivestuff
1. Chapter 1

Team 7: Crusaders of Konoha

A/N: Just real quick here, but this is one of my first on this site so that's my excuse for the bad grammer and spelling. I had another story planned, but lost inspiration, sooo I have kinda dropped it hehe. Anyway, (try to) enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any content within this fanfic except the story idea etc. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto...and stuff.

Chapter 1: Team 7 assemble!

Three, brooding figures stalked briskly down the darkened ally. Turning a corner, the trio came face-to-face with another man carrying a metallic suitcase. He flashed a toothy grin, a single golden fang glinting brightly in the moonlight, and ushered the nearest man to come closer. When he did so, the grinning figure lifted his suitcase and opened it with a click. The other two men also came forward, mouth's agape in awe, as infront of them, was nothing other than stacks of green notes seperated into twenties. The suitcase holder chuckled and snapped it shut, promptly yanking the three out of their trance.

"I'v got the money, do you have the stash?"

A large, jagged sack swayed into his vision, followed by two others on either side.

The group bellowed menacingly, before exchanging the goods from one another. Their laughter was interrupted, however, as a flash of steel flew past them and caught the golden-toothed man's shoulder. He grunted in pain and confusion. An amused chuckle filled his ears,

"Hey there, my no-good criminal friends! Should'nt you guys be at home, tucked-up in bed at this hour?"

Said criminal's looked towards the direction of the voice, and was suprised to find a petite, leather-clad human stood with her hands on her hips, facing them from the other end of the ally. Before any of them had time to respond, however, the colourful figure began to swiftly ascend towards them, rushing closer and closer with her fist pulled back.

"Nighty-night, Criminal scum"

The whole neighbood shook, a large sonic-boom shredding the walls that enclosed the narrow back-ally. Shards of glass and bricks cascaded in the moonlight, like pieces of fractured stars fallen from the same dark sky. When the smoke eventually cleared, a single, golden tooth lay among the rubble, contrasted against the bleak scenery.

Brushing-off any excess dust or concrete remenants from her abode, the same small figure from before made her way through the rubble, stopping when reaching an almost buried, silver suitcase. She knelt down and thrust it from it's burial.

"What do we have here?"

Upon revealing the contents, it was soon amongst the bricks and soil once again, the female instead looking for the reason for such a large amount of cash. Just as she swiveled around to continue her search, however, heavy foot-falls rang behind her, the owners soon entering her sights. A white and orange Hyori appeared atop the rubble, accompanied by a white, purple-roped jacket.

"Gee, you really did a number on those guys tonight, huh Sakura..."

The one wearing the hyori flashed a foxy grin, eyes crinkled beneath his golden mask. The male beside him in the roped jacket just scowled.

"How are we supposed to be a team if you always kick everybody's ass before we show up?"

Sakura just glared back at him, well, as best she could from beneath her own crimson mask. Looking around in irritation, her eyes scanned the wrecked area before coming to a conclusion in her mind. Whatever the thugs were here for was surely beneath tons upon tons of rubble by now. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, Sasuke, whatever evidence we had on these guys surely won't be found anytime soon. I guess I went a little too crazy this time..."

Said companions just shook their heads and squinted at the mess. Whatever reputation the three crime-fighters had before, was now surely going to hit a downslide. Naruto suddenly spun around and growled in frustration

"Hey, didn't we agree on using our alternate names when on patrol?! Mine's too cool NOT to be used"

Sakura rubbed the back of her neck and unenthusiastically replied to the blond, kicking around a stray pebble at her feet,

"Yeah...but 'The nine-tailed fox' is a pretty hefty name to mutter everytime I want your attention. And 'The Avenger' doesn't sound all that heroic, either, Sasuke"

Sasuke just shrugged and gritt his teeth.

"It's cooler than 'The Cherry Blossom', I wonder how long it took for you to think of that name for yourself, eh?"

He finished with a chuckle, causing the object of his sarcasm to ball her fist at him and glare bitterly. Striding over to the pair, Sakura latched onto each of the boys' collars and spoke in a tired manner.

"Whatever. Let's just get back to HQ before the cops get here, I don't want to explain the massive crater in the ground"

Before the other two could reply, they were suddenly launched in the air by brute force, scrambling to grab a rooftop ledge, while Sakura just ran up the wall then across the rest of the rooftop. Sasuke swiftly gathered himself and pursued after, while Naruto had gotten his clothes cought on a drainpipe, ripping it in his attemps to break free, then lagged on behind.

"Hey, you guys, WAIT FOR MEEEEE!"

Nine cloaked figures sat in a half circle, the room dimly lit by candlelight. One of them, sat in the centre, spoke up, his voice deep yet commanding towards the others. They gave him their undivided attention,

"It has come to my attention that recently, our main goods suppliers have been...mysteriously going dark on us"

The air became tense, each person sat in silence waiting for the incoming outburst. Pein, their leader and most respected member of the group, was just as wise as he was angry. Many people feared him because of the great power he possessed.

He stood suddenly, his cloak rustling lightly.

"If this continues to happen, not only will our business fail, but the authorities will no longer have a reason to accept our bribes"

He looked at every living being in the room, scanning for any traces of guilt or anxiousness upon their features, before raising his arms in the air with a warning striek to his tone.

"There are those, in this very city, infact, that wish to end our way of life. If any of you are to come across these certain individuals..."

He paused for dramatic affect, a deadly glint in his eye.

"...Eliminate them"

The other eight cloaked ones stood from their places and bowed to him, then slowly made their way to the room's only exit.

Sakura Haruno sat across from her two best friends, eyes glossed over with fatigue. Staying up untill the early hours of the morning fighting thugs and gansta's alike had taken its toll on her. And by the looks of things, it was having an affect on the other two crusaders too. Naruto was sloutched, leaning on Sasuke's shoulder while drooling into his Ramen. The other boy was too tired to push him off. She sighed at the sight.

Sakura had always known she was different. The first signs had appeared when, at the tender age of seven, in a fit of rage she had ripped her bedroom door right off of it's hinges. Her parents just put it down as wonkey door-fitting. She knew different, however.

Another time, Sakura recalled, when she was eleven, a boy around the same age as her named Kiba had been in a fight with Naruto, over something stupid of course. However, when Sakura had stormed over to confront Kiba about it afterwards, he called her a flat-chested know-it-all. He didn't leave the hospital for a month after that incident.

That was six years ago.

A shrill, nasally voice pulled the pink-haired girl back into reality. Leaning over the table she was sat at, was Karin a.k.a Queen bitch of Konoha. Sakura groaned inwardly.

"Haiiiii, Sasuke! Aaaawwww, what's the matter, is my poor baby not getting enough sleep?"

She batted her eyelashes at him, her ample chest nearly in his face. Sasuke cringed.

"Sometimes, I wonder how I sleep at all..."

Konoha high was a great school. Yeah, just great. The teachers were supportive. The work was relatively challenging. The cafeteria food was...edible. The students however...

"Ok, sweetie, just don't try to dream too much of me, m'kay?"

Behind Karin was her little posse of, well, bitches, really. There was Temari, Tenten, Kiba (yep, he's a bitch alright), Tayuya, Hinata, Shikamaru and...Ino. Sakura flinched when she saw the blonde glare directly at her. Even the strongest of bonds fade over time...

Naruto chirped-up suddenly, shooting up from his seat.

"Why don't ya get lost, ya bitch. We don't need ya bothering us when there are clearly more important things at stake!"

He then lifted up his Ramen cup and lifted it to his lips, slurping it all down in one go.

The group behind Karin complained loudly, already on their way to next class, soon followed by the girl herself (after giving Sasuke a suductive smirk). Throughout the whole ordeal, not once did any of the intruders acknowledge Naruto or Sakura, but that was just how it went, everyday, every year. They were always the two nerds and the cool guy to other's, but Sakura didn't mind. No-one could ever replace the two, they were her true best friends.

Giving Sasuke a reassuring grin, Sakura looked over her shoulder to spot the group from before leaving the cafeteria. Then, just as she was baout the turn back to her friends, a certain blonde looked over her shoulder, and the two locked eyes.

Sakura felt a shiver go down her spine. Even the strongest of bonds fade over time...

A/N well, there you go! First chapter, long etc... Constructive critism welcome!


	2. Chapter 2: Boom Town

Crusaders Of Konoha

Chapter 2: Boom town

A/N: Forgive me for the bad action scenes in this, aswell as the dialogue, they are not my strong points XD. Owell enjoy if possible :D

Sakura detested gym. It wasn't because of the fact that you had to change in a single, rather stuffy room full of other, most likely judging people. It wasn't because the teacher was a maniac, constantly sprouting things about youth and pushing one's self to the absolute limit. No, Sakura hated gym class because there was always a constant fear of knocking out a fellow student while trying to complete any sport at all.

Pulling her gym bag out of her locker, the pinkette turned around and suddenly come face to face with the school janitor.

"Kakashi-sensei, don't just sneak up on me like that!"

Said man just chuckled while leaning on a mop, lazily gazing at Sakura with a single eye.

"Just came to remind you that you're on patrol tonight, along with the other two"

The girl nodded and turned to close her locker door. When she turned back again, the janitor had already began walking down the hall, calling over his shoulder,

"Try not to hit the volleyball too hard this time, kiddo, I'm tired of having to clean up the mess afterwards"

Breathing a quick sigh, Sakura ignored the man's dig and headed off to the dreaded lesson, slightly dragging her feet as she did so.

"Alright, ladies! Get into teams, we're playing our favourite death-from-above sport today"

Anko stood impatiently as her class awkwardly shuffled into a divide, noting that the two teams' skills were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Tall and energetic versus timid and slackers. This should be lively, she thought in despair.

After five minutes of waiting for the students to get in their respective positions, Anko blew her whistle.

For the most part, nothing out the ordinary happened, most of the opposing team aiming for Hinata Hyuga because all she did was flinch away from the ball. But that changed when Karin switched targets. She held the ball above her head, calling over to her friends as she posed,

"Hey, watch me nail Haruno right in the face"

And they did, smirking as the red-head pelted the ball right in Sakura's direction.

Oblivious, Sakura stood bored and leaning on her left leg, choosing to count the number of various balls caught in the support beams. The sound of a loud crack rang out, waking the girl from her daze.

The other students watched in horror as instead of receiving the inevitable, as fast as lightning, the vollyball bolted in the opposite direction, cutting through the air until it crashed into the bleachers ahead. Shards of wood and bolts flew in every direction.

The gym hall erupted into screams of fear and confusion, before Anko took action and attemped to sort the disrupted class. Soon enough, teachers and some of the stronger male students began to help people out of the gymnasium. A certain blossom, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"I can't go back there"

The trio of crusaders leapt across the rooftops, scanning the ground for any signs of trouble. It was a quiet night after the incident a few days ago, though Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling that something big was coming.

"Don't be so dramatic, it'll only get played off as an accident anyway. Just a shame you couldn't have plowed a few assholes while you were at it"

Naruto gave his friend a Foxy grin, almost tripping over a wire as he did so.

Sasuke was also present, berating the blonde for his clumsiness. Sakura just sighed,

"Yeah, maybe. Though there is only so many times something like that can happen before people get suspicious!"

Before one of the others could reply, a small white bird landed by Sasuke's boot, ticking like a timer. Naruto bent down to look at it,

"Hey there, lil' fella"

Sasuke's eyes turned red, but before anyone could react, the dove exploded.

Everything went in slow motion, a white noise ringing in Sakura's ears. Painfully slow, she turned her head to look for her two companions, another giant bird in the corner of her eye. Nothing but fire.

The world began to speed up again, the force of the explosion knocking the three off of the roof. Wild flames spread across the building.

Naruto was the first to get up, but yelped in pain as his arm fell to his side. A piece of glass had sunk deep into his biceps. Wincing in agony, the beat of large wings sounded behind him, followed by an arrogant laughter.

"Naruto, get out of the way!"

Sasuke dragged Naruto to his side, pulling them both behind a dumpster just as another bird exploded , barely shielded from the blast. A few seconds passed before the raven-haired boy slowly looked from his hiding spot. A cloaked figure gracefully jumped from the giant dove, smoothing his blonde fringe from his eye. His voice was clear and confident,

"That took less time than expected. Not even enough time to appreciate my beautiful art!"

Groups of civilians rushed out of the damaged building, scattering across the street in attempts to get away from the scene. The man began to stride across the pavement, projecting his voice so that all present could hear.

"I am Deidara of the Akatsuki, the artist, the wonder, the-"

"-asshole"

A fist collided with Deidara's back, sending him cascading through the air. At the highest point, however, he quickly twisted to face his attacker and sprayed dozens of clay birds towards her. Sakura threw her arms infront of her face, but it did little to protect her from the shockwaves.

Before she could recover, a rough hand wrapped itself around her neck and the lifted the pinkette with a vise like grip. The two locked eyes.

"So YOUR one of the little punks tryin' to ruin our business, huh? Not so bright to be honest, just goin' in for the kill like that!"

He tightened his grip, forcing Sakura to gasp for air.

"Let this little rumble be a warning to you, 'cos if you can't handle me...then..."

His lowered his voice to barely a whisper, still making sure they had eye contact.

"...you'd be dead by now if they sent anyone else"

"D-dead..like...y-you?"

Deidara squinted in confusion, then peered over his shoulder. His eyes widened.

"Chidori"

"What have you got for me, Shisui?"

Captain Uchiha stood with his arms crossed over his chest, overseeing the investigation.

"A fire had started and an unconscious body has been found, with the building damage possibly suggesting that high explosives may have been used. It's a miracle no-one died, sir!"

Shisui handed the captain some papers, growing anxious when the man's brow creased.

"Akatsuki, eh? Do you know who the sorry state is yet?"

"It's all on the paper, sir"

He scrolled down the page, and there it was in print.

"Deidara Yamanaka. It makes me wonder why this guy hasn't been captured yet, maybe he blew himself up?"

The other officer chuckled at his boss's sense of humour. The Uchiha were known for their cold demeaners.

"It appears that he was pierced from behind sir, though there is no trace of a weapon of any kind"

"Is that so..."

With that, Captain Fugaku Uchiha passed the papers back and pardoned himself, and walked back to his car. Time to pay a visit to the Yamanaka household.

Kakashi sat at his computer, his masked chin leaning on his knuckle. He created the Konoha Crusaders (Naruto chose the name) because he wanted to use the trio's gifts for good, for justice. He trained them up, knowing what it's like to have powers that you can't control and taught them that no matter who you are you can make something of yourself. Kakashi created the team not knowing that they were in a world were people wern't afraid to kill.

"We were lucky this time, the dude forgot the golden rule, turned his back on the enemy"

Kakashi swivelled in his chair to look at Sasuke. The dark boy was scowling, angry that someone was actually strong enough to make him run and hide. Beside him, Naruto sat with a cast on his

arm. He was whining for hours after the shard was pulled out. Next him was Sakura, a distant look on her face. Sauke continued,

"What if there is more guys like him? He did say to Sakura something about there being others, stronger than him..."

He finished with a huff.

"If thats the case, we'll be ready"

The two boys agreed and looked confident, while the only female in the room still kept a distant look on her face.

That guy...

I've seen him before...

Next chapter soon :D


	3. Chapter 3: Painting Emotion

Crusaders Of Konoha

Chapter 3: Painting Emotion

A/N: Here its is... :D

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sakura would be less useless, Sasuke would be more evil and Jaraiya would still be alive

"So what's the plan?"

Naruto had his body hunched over the lunch table, Looking eagerly at his two companions. Sasuke glared at him, "There is no plan. We have already said that we just take 'em when they come"

The blonde pulled his face and slunk down into his seat.

"Whatever, geez your startin' to sound like me, Sasuke"

Before the raven haired boy could reply, a third person plonked into the seat next to him with a heavy sigh. The two looked up to see Sakura sat there, a blank look on her face. She muttered under her breath "Why do I feel like I'm surrounded by idiots?"

Sasuke looked over at Naruto, who was attempting to balance a spoon on his nose.

"Because you are"

They chuckled at his lame joke, until Naruto whined loudly, " I'm not an idiot! My Mom say's I'm just too smart to understand stuff beneath my level of intelligence!"

"Yeah whatever you say..."

Naruto scrunched his face in defeat, but soon lost interest in feining hurt. He looked over Sasuke's shoulder. A large group of students were gathered around a table in the corner. He turned to his friends, "Yo, have you's heard the latest?"

They didn't look up from their lunch. The blonde continued anyway,

"Ino's brother is in hospital!"

Sakura looked up. No matter how hard she tried, a face couldn't be formed in her mind. Weird, I could of sworn I had met him back when-

"Like I care. He probably deserved it"

Sakura turned to Sasuke, shocked by his words. "How could you say something like that, maybe something awful happened to him!" She exclaimed.

The dark boy remained unfaised. "He used to hang around with my...brother...and joined a gang last I heard. So why shouldn't he?"

"Well it don't matter if he deserved it or not, the guy got messed up pretty bad anyway"

Naruto had got up now and was heading for the other table, much to the surprise to the other two. Sakura protested,

"Naruto, what are you doing! You can't just go over there"

He turned around and faced the pinkette, disappointment in his eyes, "You said it yourself, nobody deservese that, I'm just gonna offer my condolences!"

"..."

"She was your friend once, too, Sakura. Why ain't you going over there?"

He carried on towards his destination. Sasuke sat silently, watching also as Naruto literary paved a path through the crowd infront, then began speaking to the girl of interest with a friendly composure. His eyebrows raised when the petite girl suddenly shot up and embrassed Naruto in a hug. Sakura was also sat quietly, confused at the odd sight before them. They had never seen Ino show any sort of affection, especially not to someone her circle of friends supposedly hated. Before long, Naruto had returned back to them.

"Whut'sup with you guys, huh?"

Sasuke shrugged and got up, pulling his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm going to class" he muttered.

Naruto gazed at Sakura and waited for her to say something. She was too deep in thought. He sighed and also got up. "Don't worry, I gave her you's two's regards 'coz I knew you'd wuss out, heheh"

For another few minutes, Sakura sat and thought. She was looking for an image, a face or even a name, but nothing came to mind. She only got up when the final bell chimed.

'I have to get out of here' Sakura thought. She looked around the classroom.

Sarutobi sensie was asleep at his desk, a cigarette still in his hand. Kiba and Kankuro had started it a poker game at the back desks. Shino and Rock Lee were trying (failing) to build an insect circus. Most of the girls were either texting or doing each other's make-up. Well, Sakura sighed, at least I did the work.

Striding towards the door in an attempt to escape the chaos, a chipper voice called after her before she could leave,

"Sakura, my youthful love! I named this beetle after you!"

She didn't have to turn around to know who it was. That guy was a creep.

Once she had entered the corridor, Sakura let out a deep breath. Another minute in there and something, or someone, would of gotten smashed to pieces. She decided to go put her now unneeded papers and books in her locker. As she walked, Sakura began to think about Deidara, the criminal she had encountered a few nights ago. He had warned her of there being other, much stronger members of his mysterious organization, 'Akatsuki', which made her worry. The Crusaders had managed to defeat him on a fluke, he had turned his back on the enemy, gave Sasuke a chance to use Chidori.

Next time, for sure, they had to be ready. They had to be prepared for anything, maybe even prepared to die. A soft mass collided with her body.

Ungracefully flying to the floor, Sakura heard a soft, feminine voice curse in irritation. She looked up, and swallowed loudly.

Velvety, platinum locks flew around wildly as their owner darted around in a fluster, gathering the various documents she had dropped. Feeling slightly guilty, Sakura hesitantly picked up the few papers that had fell near her. She looked up cautiously, then immediatly regret it. Blue eyes locked with Green ones, leaving the girl not being able to utter a word. Her mouth had gone dry.

A few seconds, maybe a minute passed, until Ino looked away. Her cheeks had flushed red. Sakura struggled to hear her voice when she spoke,

"Uhh...Sorry, entirely my fault"

The blonde got up and swiftly set off, but a hand clamped onto her shoulder. "Hey, you dropped these" Sakura mummered. Ino turned and gently took the papers from the pinkette's hand. A playful grin spread across her face.

"Thank you, Billboard brow"

Sakura was still standing there after Ino had left. Her heart was going a mile a minute.

Gee, what the hell is with this. She gritt her teeth and finally carried on to her locker.

"Deidara, you have a visitor"

The blond didn't answer. He couldn't.

"Thank you, Nurse Shizune"

The brunnette nodded and stepped aside. A small blonde, quiet similar to Deidara, slowly walked over to his bedside. She knelt down, grasping a limp hand, and smiled slightly. Her voice came out hoarse.

"I passed my Physics test today, brother. I know it's not that important, but I'm surw you'd be real

Proud"

He remained silent.

"I brought some flowers for you. They look kinda like modern art, sittin' there. You'd probably say something about that..."

Before long, the girl burst in to tears. Then her eyes shot open, droplets rolling down her cheeks. They were full of hate.

"I swear it, brother, I will find the ones who did this to you. I'll become strong, and then"

She gripped his hand tighter.

"We can live side by side as equals again. I promise"

There ya goooooo. More action in next chapter probs :)


End file.
